A year ago, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas set out to expose the debt burdens for every governmental unit in her county. The results will startle many voters and, we expect, spur demands across Illinois and the rest of the country to make this information as transparent elsewhere as it now is here: On Thursday, easy-to-read spreadsheets built from Pappas' research went live on her office's Web site….

"Pappas' next mission: Within weeks she'll seek County Board approval to identify the pension debts of every government in Cook County."

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